The disclosure relates to ion exchangeable glasses. More particularly, the disclosure relates to ion exchangeable lithium aluminosilicate glasses. Even more particularly, the disclosure relates to lithium aluminosilicate glasses which, when ion exchanged, have high levels of inherent damage resistance.
There have been continuous efforts in the development of new glass compositions to improve ion exchange properties and higher damage resistance while facilitating melting and forming processes. Many glasses with high indentation threshold are based on the SiO2—Al2O3—B2O3—MgO—Na2O—P2O5 glass systems. The open structure (i.e. high molar volume) resulting from the existence of boron or phosphorus leads to high inherent damage resistance (IDR).